A Nauvoo man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for possessing almost 2,000 images of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick Maley announced today.

U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon also ordered Joshua Houston Nesmith, 41, to remain on supervised release for the rest of his life after completing the prison term. He must register as a sex offender, and the judge prohibited him from any unsupervised contact with children.

"The children shown in these horrendous photos are victims each time their images are sold or shared and the vile industry that produces and provides those images continues to thrive," Vance said.

In the plea agreement, he admitted to using an Internet file sharing program to receive 1,896 still images and 102 video images of child pornography -- including some with children under the age of 3 -- between June 2009 and June 2010.